1.Fed up with dropping your plectrums?Try drilling a hole (about 5mm) through the middle and lo and behold, you've got a non-slip plectrum.Alternatively, stick on a ring binder reinforcing disc, it works just as well.

2.Make your own plectrums.Just cut out of an old credit card – gives you a good medium gauge plectrum.

3.Why pay £0.60, or more for plectrums?If you search ebay you’ll find plectrums available for £6 per hundred, or £1 per 10.

4.Don’t like to waste old Guitar Strings?They make great wires to hang picture frames.

5.Try using old nylon guitar strings on your ukulele – the G,B & E strings are perfect and sound nearly as good as Nylgut.

6.Do you like to eat rabbit?Take a 1st, or 2nd, steel guitar string and a tent peg and you can make a great snare.

7.Want to make your steel strings last longer?Get some Valve Oil (used for brass instruments) and a scrap of Chamois Leather, put a drop of oil in the middle of the shammy, wrap around a string and drag it up and down.It sounds like nails on a blackboard, but clears the crud and corrosion off (and makes the strings faster).Note: Only works on solid steel strings – i.e., 1st, 2nd & 3rd.

8.Do you play sitting down?If so, try not to bend over the guitar too much, as you’ll never be able to relax if your lungs are compressed.

9.Do you play with nails?If you crack, or split, one - just glue it back together with layers of tissue and nail varnish and file to shape.

10.Upbeat & Downbeat mean what they say.When strumming – if the strum is on a beat strum down, if on the half beat strum up.Simples.

11.Do you find your strings stick in the nut?Simply draw a pencil tip through the groove and the Carbon will lubricate the nut and stop the string sticking.

12.Keep a duster in your guitar case and wipe your strings down when you finish playing – they’ll last a lot longer and sound better too.

13.Don’t bother buying a digital Tuner, or Metronome.Just download a free app. for your smart phone – the app. is a lot faster, more accurate and easier to use.A no-brainer really.

14. Practising 20 minutes every day is much better than 2 hours once a week - and you will progress much faster.

15.Learn new pieces/songs - if you don't, your playing will stagnate.

16.Get yourself a teacher; if you can’t afford it try asking guitarist friends to help you.

17.Take care of your Instrument; keep it out of the sunlight, away from radiators, away from damp areas, and preferably at a constant temperature and humidity.

18.When there is a piece of music you want to learn, check out how other people play it on www.youtube.com – you can learn a lot from others interpretations.

19.If your wrist hurts when practising you are using the wrong position – your wrist should be relaxed and there should only be pressure between your thumb and fingers.

20.Change your strings regularly; about every 3 to 6 months for steel and every 6 to 12 months for nylon, depending on how much you play.

21.Try recording yourself playing – but don’t play it back immediately, wait a few months and you’ll see how much you’ve progressed.

22.Buy a Hard Case for your precious instrument – soft cases really don’t give adequate protection, and it will really spoil your day if you break the neck.

23.Cant’ read Guitar Tablature?Learn - you need it!There are lots of websites that teach you how – and nearly every piece of music you could want is available online.

24.Try to play with other musicians - it will help your timing no end.

25.Try playing to a metronome – you’ll be surprised how much it will improve your timing.

26.Always read through the music/tab before you play it - try to identify chords, position changes and suitable fingerings.

27.When practising a piece, play it at half speed, or less, it will give you time to see your errors – and correct them.

28.If you play an electric guitar check the intonation – the harmonic at the 12th fret should be exactly the same pitch as the note produced when you hold down the string at the 12th fret.

29.Practise, practise and more practise – that’s all it really takes to make a good guitarist.

30. Keep hand movements to a minimum – it will make you a much faster guitarist.

31.When playing Fingerstyle, never pluck outwards – always pluck down with the thumb and up with the fingers.

32.To get a balanced tone when Finger Picking – keep your right hand thumb about 1” (2.5cm) left of your fingers.

33.If you’re a Classical Guitarist take care of your nails - buy yourself a good Nail File and use a Ceylon style nail shape.

34.Don’t get disillusioned – remember; if someone else can play it – you can too!

35.When practising always play the new pieces first, while your attention is at full strength.

36.If you want to learn theory – get:‘Introducing Music’ by Ottó KarolyíProbably the best music theory book there is.

37.Try to learn all the notes on the fret board – essential for all instruments – but particularly important for Lead Guitar.

38.Don’t just play one style – try playing other styles – it will take you in directions you would never have thought of.

39.Learn to bend notes in pitch – semitone, tone, & 1 ½ tones.

40.Learn how to use both Classical Vibrato (left & right) and Rock Vibrato (up & down).

41.Download a free, or demo, guitar tab player program/app.Find the tab(s) you want, load them into the program, slow the tempo right down and play along – a great way to improve your timing.

58.When playing, if you look down all the strings should line up one behind the other – ie. on Guitar you should only see the 6th string – if you see more strings your position is wrong and will make left hand fingering more difficult.

59.Intelligence and long fingers may help – but what really counts is how much you want to play guitar.

60.When practising, try to enjoy yourself – it helps a lot.

61.Most good music provokes an emotional response – Bach shows you how to be one with the Universe.

62.Music is more difficult to read for the Guitar as you can get the same note in different places – but easy to allow for – just add 5 frets to any note usually on the 1st string that you want to play on the 2nd string, add a further 4 frets if you want it on the 3rd string.Do similar for any other note on another string.